Archive for February, 2012

Valentine’s Day has turned into Valentine’s month around here…well, the first 14 days of this month. I saw this idea on Pinterest and really wanted to do it. Then I found these mailboxes in the dollar bin at Target and voila!

I just Mod Podged on a letter for each kid (and one for Trav, too!), found some candlesticks at a thrift store and spray painted them black. Each day in February leading up to Valentine’s Day, the kids and Trav got a special note inside the box. For the kids, I wanted to point out little things I love about them and things that make them special. So each day they pulled out a little note like this and a little treat (yay for the Dollar Store!)…

More dollar store fun…Dollar Tree has basic white plates for $1. Awesome! I figured even if I completely screwed up a Valentine’s Day plate, I’d only be out a buck. I tried to do a handprint plate with the kids hands making a heart shape. Pinterest idea…and it bombed. Then I thought that maybe I could make hearts out of thumbprints…and it worked. Each family member contributed a thumbprint heart, and the plate was done!

I’ve loved doing this with my kids over the last 14 days. They get so excited to come to breakfast and see if the red flag is up on their mailboxes. And then they love listening to me read what their note says. Molly would end each note with a little giggle and a big hug, while Owen would often make suggestions about what he’d like his next note to say. For example, one day I wrote how much I love to hear him sing. He wasn’t a big fan of this note and requested that the next day I comment about how much he loves Batman and Joker. Goofball…I don’t think he totally got the point.

Anyway, Valentine’s month has been great. I don’t know if it’s made as much of an impact on the kids as it has with me. Focusing on the wonderful things about my kids that make them special has helped me focus on the positive things when they’re screaming at each other and fighting over the same toy!